May 12, 2011 Donna Miles / American Forces Press Service – defpro.com

LILONGWE, Malawi | A U.S. and Malawi Defense Force humanitarian medical exercise being conducted here is enhancing the partners’ medical capabilities and their ability to work together in response to a future crisis or emergency response, the commander of the National Guard element providing command and control for the operation reported.

The exercise, MEDREACH 11, kicked off May 3 and continues through May 16. It brings together about 100 U.S. and 300 Malawi troops. The exercise includes classroom instruction, field training, and civic assistance activities, to include medical and dental outreach programs in specific areas of Lilongwe.

Malawi is a landlocked country located in southeast Africa. Lilongwe is the capital city.

The goal of the exercise is for the two militaries to learn from each other as they forge close partnerships that benefit both nations, as well as the broader region, explained Army Brig. Gen. Robert Pratt, commander of the Illinois National Guard’s 404th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade.

“This is a great operation for us,” Pratt said. “We are learning from each other, and we are both stronger because of that.”

The impact of MEDREACH 11 goes beyond patients treated and friendships formed, said Navy Cmdr. Jonathan Adams, exercise planner for U.S. Africa Command. The exercise, he said, is part of Africom’s engagement in Africa that’s aimed at strengthening partnerships and partner capacity.

The ultimate goal, Adams explained, is to help African nations better support the African Union’s Regional Standby Force concept so they can respond together in times of crises -- providing humanitarian assistance and disaster response, deploying peacekeeping forces or responding to a regional threat.

“One of the far-reaching goals of Africom, in general, is to aid the Africans in dealing with African challenges,” Adams said.

The best way to accomplish that, he said, is through a robust exercise program built on strong military-to-military relationships. MEDREACH 11, led by U.S. Army Africa, is among 16 Africom exercises conducted this fiscal year alone.

Many, like MEDREACH, he said, have a medical focus.

The U.S. military has a long history of medical engagement in Africa, Adams explained. For nearly a decade, he said, U.S. European Command conducted medical exercises in Africa, deploying teams of doctors, dentists and support personnel to provide joint-combined medical training and humanitarian assistance.

The standup of Africom has changed the focus of the exercise program, Adams said, noting the goal now is to strengthen relationships already formed while helping host nations’ militaries build professionalism and capability.

Adams said medical clinics and civic-action programs remain key pieces of the exercise planning.

“But our major focus is on increasing the capabilities and our interoperability with the [African] medical forces that will be deployed for future operations,” he said.

Africom is striving to promote more regional military cooperation, Adams said, so African nations are better prepared to respond together to a regional crisis.

MEDREACH 11 is a bilateral exercise, he said, with observers from Mozambique, Botswana, Namibia and Lesotho expected to participate.

“Our future goal is to have it truly be a multilateral, cooperative exercise,” Adams said. “By proving our goodwill and showing the benefit of working with Africom, we hope to encourage more cooperation from the others at the same time.”

For example, he said, the Natural Fire exercise series in eastern Africa has brought together militaries from regional neighbors and the United States to focus on humanitarian and civic assistance, disaster relief and security.

“That involves many partners from the eastern African region, not just one,” Adams said. “And when we get that more truly established in other regions as well, that will be our big goal.”

Additional multilateral exercises are in the discussion or planning stages, he said. Such multilateral military-to-military engagement, he added, will posture African nations to better provide for their own security and crisis response.

The African Standby Force was stood up to be an international, continental African military force envisioned to deploy during times of crisis in Africa under the direction of the African Union. All five African regions -- north, south, east, west and central -- are in the process of establishing regional brigades to support the concept.

The success of this concept in supporting a secure, stable environment that prevents violent extremism from taking root affects far more than the African continent, Adams said.

“A secure Africa improves security worldwide,” he said. “By improving regional stability, we help to build the militaries and the governments that can prevent these [terrorist] sanctuaries from being created, and in the bigger scheme, reduce the effectiveness of the enemies who would do harm to us from those bases of insecurity.”

10 May 2011 by defenceWeb

The South African Air Force is to send trainee Air Traffic Control (ATC) students to a new training facility recently opened by 43 Air School in the Eastern Cape.

Based at Port Alfred, 43 Air School is a civilian air training organisation, the largest in Africa. The school officially opened its state-of-the-art ATC Training Centre last week Thursday. CE Attie Niemann said during his address that 43 Air School has become a leading global player in aviation training.

The school now operates the only 360° Aerodrome Simulator in Africa, designed and manufactured locally by Barlog Management Systems and certified by the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) on March 31.

Attending the opening, SAAF chief, Lieutenant General Carlo Gagiano, announced that the SAAF has selected 43 Air School as a preferred training partner and that it would be sending ATC students to train at 43 Air Schools new facility.

The first ATC training course using the state-of-the-art device is currently underway and it is believed that the SAAF will send four ATC Cadets to the school.

Defence minister Lindiwe Sisulu last November in answer to a parliamentary question noted the SAAF had 77 ATC posts of which 48 were staffed and 29 vacant.

10 May 2011 by defenceWeb

Reutech Solutions has been awarded further work worth R13.5 million for the maintenance and support of a Department of Defence (DoD) command and control communication transmission (C3T) network. The contracts, for R9.6 and R3.7 million respectively, were awarded Thursday and are extensions of a R80 million July 2006 deal. A reference in one of the extensions notes the work is for the South African Air Force, while the other is on behalf of the DoD Command Management Information Systems Division. The new work takes the known value of the project, ELGS/2005/428, to some R44 108 630.69 since 2006.

Général Abdoulaye Fall

10/05/2011 APS

Dakar, 10 mai (APS) - Un cours d’attaché de défense d’une dizaine de jours se tient depuis lundi à Dakar à l’initiative de l’Etat-major général des Armées du Sénégal et du Centre de politique de sécurité de Genève (CPSG) et sous le parrainage de l’Ambassade suisse à Dakar.

Prennent part à cette rencontre organisée pour la troisième année consécutive, des officiers militaires supérieurs de plusieurs pays d’Afrique de l’Ouest et d’Afrique centrale, selon le communiqué reçu à l’APS.

Appelé aussi cours d’orientation, le séminaire permettra à ces participants, appelés à être des attachés de Défense auprès d’ambassades de leurs pays respectifs à l’étranger, de mieux comprendre le contexte géopolitique international nouveau.

Ils pourront également faire face aux tendances actuelles de la politiques de sécurité et aux problèmes liés à la gestion et à la résolution des crises, afin de renforcer la paix, la stabilité, la sécurité et la coopération internationales, explique la même source.

Lors des travaux, les séminaristes seront encadrés par des officiers supérieurs du CPSG et par l’antenne du Centre d’études diplomatique et stratégiques (CEDS) à Dakar. Ils bénéficieront aussi d’une présentation du délégué régional du Comité international de la Croix-Rouge (CICR) à Dakar.

A l’ouverture des travaux, le Chef d’Etat-major général des Armées du Sénégal, le Général Abdoulaye Fall, s’est félicité du renforcement constant, du partenariat entre le CPSG et les Armées sénégalaises, depuis ces dernières années, indique le communiqué.

Fondé il y a 15 ans, le CPSG dispense des cours approfondis en politique de sécurité internationale, à des diplomates, des militaires des militaires, et des fonctionnaires des ministères des Affaires étrangères, de la Défense, ainsi que des autres secteurs de souveraineté.

OID/ASG

10 May 2011 | Ref. 086/2011 BAE Systems press release

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa – The BAE Systems business in South Africa has developed a purpose built RG35 RPU vehicle that delivers the crucial balance between firepower, proven survivability and tactical mobility troops currently need and will require in the future.

The RG35 RPU is a modern, yet ruggedly dependable tactical 4X4 wheeled vehicle that is truly purpose built for multiple missions. Not only can the reconnaissance variant be equipped with light and medium turrets, as well as direct and indirect-fire weapons, it can power its way through the toughest terrain, taking troops to wherever the mission is.  The vehicle can easily be modified a number of ways to transport cargo, conduct routine patrols, or be outfitted with cameras and other electronics for surveillance missions.

“No matter the mission, ensuring that troops make it to and from their home base safely is paramount,” said Chris Chambers, Vice President and General Manager of BAE Systems’ Tactical Wheeled Vehicles business. “With the RG35 RPU, we’ve developed a unique armour protected capsule, integrating decades of expertise and experience that we call the ‘crew citadel.’ It is designed to shield troops inside the vehicle from mine blasts, road side bombs and gunfire while ensuring they can fulfill their missions effectively.”

The RG35 is an open architecture fit for many applications and is currently being adapted to suit the Canadian Tactical Armoured Patrol Vehicle (TAPV) program.  As the business moves forward submitting its formal proposal with the proven hardware in response to the TAPV RFP, the team has coined the tagline “mission complete” to succinctly and simply describe the RG35 RPU’s value proposition.

“What’s mission complete?  It’s delivering true value to the customer, throughout its life: providing troops with enhanced crew protection; delivering the tactical mobility required across extreme terrain and multiple missions and, specifically for the TAPV program, built and supported in Canada, for Canada. That’s mission complete, and that’s the RG35 RPU,” added Chambers.

The RG35 RPU is a 4X4 mine protected multi-mission tactical wheeled vehicle. It measures approximately 5.2 meters in length, 2.6 meters in width, and 2.5 meters in height, with a ground clearance of 414 millimeters.  The RG35 RGU’s gross vehicle mass is 21,000kg with a payload of 3,000kg and seats driver plus 9 crew members.

Umkhonto-IR missile. (Photo: Denel Dynamics)

May 10, 2011 defpro.com

South Africa is exploring joint collaborative programmes in Turkey says Jan Wessels, the CEO of Denel Dynamics. The missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVS) business is an exhibitor at this year’s International Defence Industry Fair (IDEF), being held in Instanbul, Turkey from 10 – 13 May 2011. The South African company is not treating Turkey as a ‘market’ for selling products; the country is considered more for a partnering opportunity on future collaboration projects. “Turkey has an advanced defence industry with ambitious national industrial development goals - similar to South Africa. It makes sense for us to strengthen relationships between the two nations and find win-win cooperation opportunities,” says Wessels. Both South Africa and Turkey are members of the G20 group of progressive developing nations.

“South Africa has a comparably small but highly agile missile and UAV design, production and maintenance capability, anchored around a very strong engineering ‘hub’ in Denel Dynamics,” says Wessels. Looking forward, the innovative technologies in the A-Darter and Umkhonto missiles provide the South African business with the confidence that they can add value to Turkish air defence missile programmes through partnerships. The A-Darter joint collaboration project between the governments of Brazil and South Africa is a high profile example of what can be achieved between the industries of two politically aligned, advanced developing nations. “South Africa and Turkey can do the same,” says Wessels.

“South Africa’s engineering core has been developed and honed for over 30 years through Denel Dynamics, which has resulted in one of the best globally competitive teams in our field. Two specific highlights for 2010 were the highly successful introduction into service of the South African Umkhonto vertical launched surface-to-air missile system by the Finnish Navy, a NATO member, and the equally successful completion of integration and certification of the A-Darter 5th generation air-air missile from the Gripen fighters of the South African Air Force.

UMKHONTO SPEARHEADS SA’S REACH INTO NEW MARKETS

South Africa’s recent upgrade of its Umkhonto surface-to-air missile (SAM) to a Block 2 version featuring much enhanced ‘clutter’ performance, has highlighted Denel Dynamics’ system into new prominence in the international market.

Umkhonto can now comfortably be applied to Ground Based Air Defence Systems (GBADS), naval launch platforms and even against surface targets (surface-air-surface capability). Denel Dynamic’s innovative solution to a clutter background requirement from an international client dramatically enhanced Umkhonto to function in a multi-platform role for both air and surface targets. It has been operationally proven in challenging, high-clutter background environments including littoral water and land warfare scenarios.

“Now that the missile’s range, all weather options and rejection of ECM have been extended, Umkhonto is still the best choice for any navy and we are proud to have the Block 2 for land application as well,” said Machiel Oberholzer, Executive Manager Air Defence at Denel Dynamics. The upgrade also enables easy integration with different radar and platform solutions in network centric applications.

A-DARTER MISSILE CLEARANCE ON GRIPEN AIRCRAFT

The first A-Darter 5th generation short range air-to-air missile, designed to meet the challenges of future air combat, was successfully launched from a South African Air Force Saab Gripen fighter jet on 17 June 2010. Since then, all the required firings have taken place and clearance for the full carriage and firing envelopes of Gripen has been achieved. After an extensive ground test series of campaigns, these clearance launches from the air are highly significant in A-Darter’s developmental cycle as an air-air missile for the joint missile development programme between South Africa and Brazil. The Saab Project Manager for the integration test campaigns of A-Darter, Magnus Reineholm, was recently quoted as saying: “The A-Darter and the Gripen aircraft have worked beyond our expectations and we are extremely pleased with the test firing results.”

The missile development programme is due for completion in 2012. Only a hand-full of countries in the world are capable of developing missiles in this class. The relationship with the Brazilian Air Force and Brazilian Industry on the Development Programme has strengthened the ties between the two countries and may lead to more cooperation opportunities. The initial fighter aircraft for integration are the Hawk and Gripen for the South African Air Force, and the F-5BR for the Brazilian Air Force. Significant export opportunities exist for this product into further markets.

During May 2010, Defence and Military Veterans Minister Lindiwe Sisulu announced to the South African Government National Assembly that A-Darter was “a very important project of the Department of Defence (DoD)”. The Minister highlighted that, “this programme is set to become a model for cooperation and joint development by South Africa and other nations.”

EMERGING MARKETS ARE THE FUTURE

For advanced developing countries including Turkey and South Africa, emerging markets are the future. IDEF will showcase the significant progress that has been made in terms of indigenous technological and industrial development in Turkey, and why Denel Dynamics strategy towards co-operation in Turkey is a sound one.

09.05.11 20minutes.fr Avec Reuters

La Norvège réduira son rôle au sein de l'opération de l'Otan en Libye lorsqu'expirera le 24 juin l'engagement qu'elle a pris pour trois mois, a déclaré ce lundi la ministre norvégienne de la Défense, Grete Faremo. La Norvège a été l'un des premiers pays européens à faire connaître sa volonté d'appliquer la résolution de l'ONU sur une zone d'exclusion aérienne en Libye destinée à protéger les populations civiles.

«Contribution moins générale qu’à présent»

Six F-16 norvégiens sont mobilisés pour effectuer des missions au-dessus de la Libye. «Si l'Otan poursuit ses opérations en Libye au-delà du 24 juin, la contribution de la Norvège pourrait être différente, moins générale qu'à présent», a déclaré la ministre devant le parlement. Un petit partenaire de la coalition au pouvoir à Oslo, la Gauche socialiste (SV), avait demandé un peu plus tôt que la Norvège se retire des opérations à l'expiration de la période de trois mois.

RAF fighter planes have destroyed missile launchers during a bombing raid on dictator Muammar Gaddafi's home town, the Ministry of Defence said.

08 May 2011 THE TELEGRAPH

Two Tornado planes attacked FROG-7 rocket launchers and canisters used to carry Scud missiles on Friday morning at the site near the city of Sirte. The FROG-7 can fire rockets up to 70km and would pose a serious threat to civilians if used against an urban area, the MoD said. Scud missiles strike targets up to 300km away and can carry a one-tonne warhead. The targets were identified during previous reconnaissance flights. Defence Secretary Liam Fox said: "I have no doubt that this stockpile of weapons could have been used to threaten and kill innocent Libyans. "We continue to degrade and destroy a range of military assets including tanks, armoured personnel carriers and rocket launchers that threaten the civilian population. "This hugely successful mission is an example of how we are stepping up our strikes on Gaddafi's forces that continue to attack the Libyan people. "The international coalition is resolute in its UN mandated task of protecting the civilian population." Around 30-40 Scud canisters used to transport Scud missiles were struck in the raid. The UK is operating alongside other Nato countries to destroy the ability of Gaddafi's forces to inflict harm on the people of Libya. Nato aircraft have flown more that 5,300 sorties since the no-fly zone was put in place in March.

07/05/2011 LeFigaro.fr AFP

L'Italie va fournir "très bientôt" des armes aux insurgés libyens pour les aider à se défendre face aux forces fidèles au dirigeant Mouammar Kadhafi, qui ont infligé samedi de lourdes pertes à la rébellion dans l'ouest du pays. Les Italiens "vont nous fournir des armes et nous allons les recevoir très bientôt", a déclaré à des journalistes Abdel Hafiz Ghoga, le vice-président du Conseil national de transition (CNT), organe politique de la rébellion. A Rome, des sources au ministère des Affaires étrangères ont précisé que l'Italie allait fournir "du matériel d'auto-défense" aux rebelles, dans le cadre de la résolution 1973 du Conseil de sécurité de l'ONU. L'Italie ne fournira pas d'armes d'assaut, ont ajouté ces sources, sans plus de précision.

Pas plus de 3000 combattants chez les insurgés

Les rebelles réclament régulièrement des armes pour faire face aux forces gouvernementales, qu'elles combattent depuis la mi-février. Tout comme la France et le Royaume-Uni, l'Italie a déjà envoyé une poignée de conseillers militaires à Benghazi (est), siège du CNT, pour aider les rebelles à s'organiser. Selon M. Gogha, le nombre de combattants rebelles engagés à travers le pays ne dépasse cependant pas 3000 personnes. Le vice-président du CNT a aussi assuré que les attaques des pro-Kadhafi s'intensifiaient, signe selon lui que la pression internationale porte ses fruits. "Il semble que plus Kadhafi est désespéré, plus il se déchaîne contre son peuple", a-t-il dit.

Violents combats à Zenten

Les insurgés ont perdu au moins neuf de leurs combattants aujourd'hui lors de violents combats près de Zenten, dans les montagnes berbère au sud-ouest de Tripoli. Une cinquantaine d'autres ont été blessés, dont plusieurs très grièvement, selon un correspondant de l'AFP et des sources médicales. Après de violents combats qui ont duré toute la journée dans une localité vidée de ses habitants à une trentaine de kilomètres à l'est de Zenten, les pro-Kadhafi ont finalement dû reculer, abandonnant des véhicules et quelques prisonniers. Au poste-frontière de Dehiba, un peu plus à l'ouest, au moins six obus libyens sont tombés sur le sol tunisien sans faire ni victime ni dégât, portant à 24 le nombre de projectiles tombés côté tunisien depuis une semaine. Le gouvernement tunisien a haussé le ton, annonçant qu'il prendrait les dispositions "nécessaires" pour "préserver l'intégrité de son territoire", selon l'agence TAP.

06 May 2011 by Colonel David Peddle (Ret)* – defenseWeb

The first sight of a riotous mob can be very intimidating for the inexperienced and ill-prepared policeman filled as his mind is with the law and its implications for him, never mind if he does not meet the expectations of his masters and the other policemen around him. What to do indeed!

Governments have been confronted with riotous crowds since time immemorial. Napoleon infamously simply deployed cannons during the Paris royalist riots of 1795 while British authorities sent in the cavalry at St Peter's Field, Manchester in August 1819, resulting in the “Peterloo Massacre”, and a century later, the infantry, resulting in the Amritsar Massacre in April 1919. I would hasten to add that there are many such examples across the world, Soweto in 1976, China, where the People's Liberation Army dealt with protestors on Tiananmen Square in June 1989 and many more.

Every police authority has a view on how crowds should be controlled. This is not to ignore the use of the military as a supplement, a famous example being the deployment of the British Army to Northern Ireland in 1968 when protests there escalated beyond the ability of the Royal Ulster Constabulary to cope. In all cases the degree of force that may be applied is dependent on the law of the land interpreted in terms of the political climate of the day which must sanction the degree of force allowable to deal with the problem. When the government, as was the case for example with the Shah of Iran, is out of step with the popular mood, then the use of force can backfire spectacularly and in that case caused wholesale defections of the security forces to join the protesters and ultimately the fall of the government.

The degree of force is the critical factor in the public mind as beyond a certain ill-defined point there will be a public counter-reaction. This article will attempt to discuss that policing dilemma with respect to public order policing (POP) in the context of the modern South Africa.

Possibly the most effective means of public order policing is the early arrival of a police officer on the scene of a protest who is able, by means of his/her personality and understanding of the psychology of crowds, to prevent even the most emotional of gatherings from turning violent, giving another interpretation to Sun Tzu's well-known dictum that “to win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill.” The same is true for public order policing. Ten minutes of careful listening and understanding could prevent days of violence and millions of Rand’s worth of subsequent damage. The role of the first responder i.e. police official, at a potential unrest scene has been much underestimated in police training generally, and specifically in terms of crime prevention.

It is here where a contradiction arises. All democratic states recognise the right of citizens to gather and protest or celebrate peacefully in a safe environment. To secure the latter is one reason that police are present in most countries at major public gatherings. Keeping contending protests apart or screening property and non-participants are another reason, as is detering, preventing and investigating crime. Crowds traditionally attract criminals and incidence of theft and robbery are not uncommon. In the case of emotional protests, acts of violence and vandalism are not uncommon. Public violence is a leap up from the occasional mugging or pickpocketing. The latter can generally be policing with the consent of the crowd, policing the former may further inflame the situation, pouring petrol on the flames.

Once a crime is committed, it is the duty, by law, of a police official to investigate; to gather and protect evidence, to detain suspects and to bring these before the courts (in collaboration with the prosecuting authorities) so justice may be done. Easy enough with a few miscreants, but another matter all together with a hostile crowd!

The command and control aspects of policing any mass gathering must also be carefully planned and rehearsed beforehand. Confusion and uncertainty, once policing is required, will delay proper and effective police deployments and of course most likely allow lawbreakers to escape justice. The concept of appointing commanders, at varying levels from the province down to street level, who have the authority to give guidance and instructions to the ground commander is vital to ensure that the police commander at the scene of a disturbance has the authority to issue commands and do what is necessary knowing he or she has the authority to do so. The requirement for such rehearsals will pre-suppose that the elements that will be deployed to deal with such a situation have trained together and will actually be grouped together at a suitable station ready to spring into action when so required.

The training requirements of such a POP force must be intensive, carried out frequently in realistic training areas following carefully scripted but true to life scenarios, using live but non-lethal POP ammunition including tear gas, pepper spray, water cannon and rubber bullets. The more the POP training, the more confident the members will become and thus more efficient, disciplined and less likely to break ranks or carry out illegal acts.

Facing down a full scale riot is a very frightening experience, as mentioned earlier. Trust and knowledge is essential, specifically in their commanders, whom as a result of detailed and frequent training they have grown to respect. They need to trust implicitly that their POP unit/section commanders will do what is right and legally correct under all circumstances, the more so as the flip-side of the doctrine of minimum force is the possible imprisonment of law enforcers who exceed the bounds.

One of the most critical aspects of any POP unit is that its weapons, tactics and doctrine are correctly matched and fully integrated. Exercises must be conducted to confirm this vital principle. This integration means that where doctrine requires POP members, as part of a snatch team, or shield line, to close with the line of rioters, they have the appropriate protective equipment and weapons. This will include arms tha can be used at very short ranges, without necessarily causing serious injury or death to a suspect who resists arrest, or is a threat to law enforcers.

This also means that while it is useful to train some POP units to a higher tactical standard than others, all must have a common minimum tactical training level and be capable of dealing with all threats. The very real threat exists that should a unit only be able to deal with basic low level marches and minor infractions of the law, they may suddenly be required to deal with a crowd situation which by the very nature of the beast can escalate rapidly into a very dangerous situation which only a well trained POP commander could handle in a calm and efficient manner.

Although command-and-control have been addressed previously the vexed question of the Incident Control Centre (ICC) is of such importance that it needs to be dealt with separately. The principle accepted through out the world is that should an incident occur, no matter how small, an ICC must be established to ensure that the vital link between the tactical commander busy with the incident, the higher headquarters and the press who will arrive rapidly at the scene. Clearly the ICC has a greater responsibility than acting as a conduit of commands and information. The ICC amongst many other tasks must actually become the focus point for the management of the area, in terms of not only the incident/riot control, but also the garnering of information/intelligence and evidence for the subsequent court case that must flow out of the incident. The flow of arrestees will be facilitated by the ICC to the identified reception centres (RC) where effective processing can only happen based on the correct legal paperwork required to place the suspect at the scene of his/her crime.

Without this process being in place, the courts will have little recourse other than to release the suspects without charge to the great frustration of the hard working POP unit members who could be tempted to rather punish the rioter themselves than deliver him up to an uncertain justice system. The rioter, of course, will take heart from the fact that taking a violent part in a protest is a relatively safe activity in so much as that even if he or she was caught, the chance of punishment is slim. A better recipe for greater trouble at a later stage is hard to conceive.

In conclusion, public order policing is not only a much under-rated subject, also a very complex one too. Winston Churchill said of Royal Navy Grand Fleet commander Admiral John Jellicoe during the First World War that he was “the only man on either side who could lose the war in an afternoon.” Public order police face the same predicament: there are no glorious victories in correct crowd control, but even the most junior member of a POP unit can cause no end of political and financial repercussions for a government with very little real effort on his or her part.

* Colonel David Peddle retired from the South African National Defence Force in 2009 after a full career. His last post was Senior Staff Officer Internal Operations at the Joint Operations Division. In this capacity he was chairman of the National Vehicle Crime Task Team, the chairman of the Maritime Committee of the national Border Control Operational Coordinating Committee and Member for Security on the boards of the Great Limpopo, Maluti/Drakensberg and Lebombo Transfrontier Parks. Colonel Peddle holds a Diploma in Security Management from the University of the Witwatersrand and is currently completing a Masters Degree in Security Management at the same institution. He is a graduate of the Executive National Security Programme of the South African National Defence College, the South African Army's Command and Staff Course and the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst. He was commissioned in the Gordon Highlanders. While in the British Army. Colonel Peddle served in Northern Ireland. While in the South African Army, Colonel Peddle was also for many years involved with developing, teaching and implementing crowd control doctrine. Colonel Peddle is currently consulting with defenceWeb and is developing a programme for a two-day conference on crowd control as an aspect of public order policing, to be held 3-4 October 2011 at Gallagher Estate in Midrand.

Royal Navy clears Libyan harbour mine

5 May 11 UK MoD

HMS Brocklesby, one of the Royal Navy's mine countermeasures vessels, has destroyed a mine laid by pro-Gaddafi forces in the port of Misurata on the Libyan coast. Forces loyal to Colonel Gaddafi have made repeated attempts to close down the port to limit the flow of humanitarian assistance to the population of Misurata. Using her sonar and underwater mine disposal system, Seafox, HMS Brocklesby successfully located and destroyed a buoyant mine just one mile (1.6km) from the entrance to the harbour. The mine, containing more than 100 kilogrammes of high explosives, had been crudely placed by pro-Gaddafi forces using an inflatable dinghy to transport it out to sea.

May 5, 2011 defpro.com

The South African Air Force will mark the return of the Rooivalk helicopter in style when it hosts the first edition of its bi-annual air capability demonstration to be held at Air Force Base Makhado on Thursday 12 May 2011 at 10:45. The aircraft has been undergoing a major revamp by Denel Aviation on its systems and technological instruments and has since been recently handed back to the Air Force at the end of March 2011. The line-up of participating aircraft will include Hawks, Gripens, Casas, Oryx Helicopters, C-130, Augusta A109 C-208 and PC.

The demonstration is meant to illustrate the employment of air power by means of academic profiles.

Various simulated exercises which also include a South African Army element comprise of scenarios ranging from mortar attacks, light artillery drops, air supplies, counter attacks by jet fighters, photo reconnaissance to fire fighting. This serves as a splendid opportunity for the Air Force to demonstrate its strength and ability to secure the South African air space and the citizens of the country.

4 May 2011 By JULIAN HALE DefenseNews

BRUSSELS - NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said here May 4 that participants in NATO's Unified Protector mission in Libya had reaffirmed their "strong commitment" to the operation. "I don't sense any fatigue," he said at his monthly press briefing. Rasmussen said the mission would not end before NATO achieved its three military objectives: stopping attacks on civilians, withdrawing all Libyan regime forces to their bases, and guaranteeing free and unhindered access for humanitarian assistance to Libya. "I can't fix a date when the three objectives will be fulfilled," he said. The secretary general could not specify to what degree Libya's forces had been degraded by NATO attacks but said the alliance "has hit important military targets - tanks, armored vehicles, rocket launchers, command-and-control centers." He said "significant progress" had been made in the last month in taking out critical military capabilities, "so that it has become much more difficult for [Moammar] Gadhafi to attack his own people." But, he cautioned, "We can't prevent all attacks, [such as] when Gadhafi uses snipers and hides military units in populated areas." Asked if a command-and-control node would encompass any building in which Gadhafi could give orders, Rasmussen declined to go into operational details. But he added, "We target military capacities only, including command-and-control centers," and expressed confidence in "military commanders' ability to identify legitimate military targets."

Rasmussen also spoke about Osama bin Laden's death and what it meant for NATO and Afghanistan. "We'll stay the course," he said, adding later that "international terrorism continues to pose a direct threat to the security of our nations and stability across the world," and that "we need to stay in Afghanistan as long as necessary to accomplish our mission." "The strategy [for Afghanistan] won't change," he said, adding that the transition toward the Afghan people's ownership of their security is "fully on track," and the aim is to complete this process by 2014. Asked if he thought that bin Laden should have been captured alive, Rasmussen said, "The bottom line here is that the founder of al-Qaida bears the responsibility for the deaths of thousands of people. I think it was justified to carry out this operation against him, and hope that the successful operation will lead to undermining one of the world's most dangerous terrorist networks." In response to a question suggesting that Pakistan is becoming a safe haven for terrorism, he said there are "clearly problems of security in Pakistan," and that NATO "had encouraged Pakistan to strengthen the fight against terrorists and extremists, especially on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan." His conclusion was that "we need to improve and strengthen ties with Pakistan."